James Gurney

This daily weblog by Dinotopia creator James Gurney is for illustrators, plein-air painters, sketchers, comic artists, animators, art students, and writers. You'll find practical studio tips, insights into the making of the Dinotopia books, and first-hand reports from art schools and museums.

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Imaginative Realism

Dinotopia: The World Beneath

"A ravishing, action-packed adventure." —Smithsonian. Now with 32 extra behind-the-scenes pages. Signed by the author/illustrator

Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara

160 pages, fully illustrated in color. Written and illustrated by James Gurney. Signed by the author

Donating = Loving

Writing GurneyJourney takes dozens of hours each month. If you get as much out of this blog as you get from a cup of coffee or a nice meal out, please consider contributing to my citizen journalism in the visual arts.

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or by email:gurneyjourney (at) gmail.comSorry, I can't give personal art advice or portfolio reviews. If you can, it's best to ask art questions in the blog comments.

Permissions

All images and text are copyright 2015 James Gurney and/or their respective owners. Dinotopia is a registered trademark of James Gurney. For use of text or images in traditional print media or for any commercial licensing rights, please email me for permission.

However, you can quote images or text without asking permission on your educational or non-commercial blog, website, or Facebook page as long as you give me credit and provide a link back. Students and teachers can also quote images or text for their non-commercial school activity. It's also OK to do an artistic copy of my paintings as a study exercise without asking permission.

Merry Christmas to all the Gurneys and all the Journeyers. The Mrs. and I would especially like to thank Dan Gurney the younger for his beautiful button accordion music. Santa left the CD in my stocking and we've been enjoying all day--a very special Christmas present indeed! Thanks for the Journey.--RQ

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and another year full of awesomeness.

Your books were my most prized present under the tree this year, and I've spent the day indulging myself once more in the magic, the wonder, and the glory of Dinotopia--this time around, appreciating it from a technical art perspective as well as the sheer conceptual genius. I almost think it's something to be grateful for that the original book slipped out of my ownership for so many years, as I was able to look at it afresh today and had the wonderful dual feeling of remembrance and discovery come over me, almost as if my reading the book in my childhood had been merely some half-remembered dream that I had now discovered the reality to. I've fallen in love with Dinotopia all over again. My friend and I spent some time going on about Dinotopia--she'd want to work in the Waterfall City library and I'd probably be a wandering dinosaur-hugger. (I have yet to delve into Imaginative Realism, but I'm sure it'll be packed with valuable information and stunning illustrations.)

Roberto, I passed on your nice comments to Dan, and he was thrilled to hear it.

Steve, I love Wendell Barry's writing, because it's so grounded and uplifting at the same time.

And Surfin' Squid, Wow! I am deeply touched by your beautiful expression of reconnecting with Dinotopia. I'm glad to know that looking behind the curtain didn't take away from the wonder of it. May your journeys bring you to wonderful places.